The FASEB Summer Conference on the Molecular Biology of Intestinal Lipid Transport and Metabolism will bring together scientists in a variety of related fields with the purpose of defining, describing and analyzing critical scientific problems and recent advances in an intimate and interactive environment. A key feature of this meeting is the opportunity to facilitate the interactions of students and postdoctoral fellows with senior established figures in the field. Such interactions have historically been successful in defining new research agendas and fostering scientific discourse and collaborations. This application requests partial funding for a Conference to be held August 3-7, 2003 at Snowmass Village in Snowmass, Colorado. This will be the fifth such conference on this theme; the last one was held in the summer of 2000. This conference is unique in both its highly multidisciplinary approach and in its focus on an understudied topic. Thus, we will bring together a diverse group of senior and junior investigators with expertise in the areas of nutrition, physiology, biochemistry, protein chemistry, cell and molecular biology, and developmental biology, to address recent advances in lipid metabolism as they relate to the intestine. The format will consist of seven major oral sessions scheduled over four days (four AM and three PM), an evening Keynote Address and two poster sessions. To date 26 invited speakers have confirmed their desire to participate. The seven formal sessions focus on active research areas: 1) Sterol absorption and transport; 2) Intestinal bile acid and retinol transport; 3) Fatty acid transporters; 4) Enzymes associated with intracellular lipid assembly; 5) Transcriptional control of lipid metabolism; 6) Molecular genetics of lipoprotein assembly and metabolism; and 7) Integrated regulation of hepatic lipid metabolism and secretion. All participants will be invited to submit an abstract to one of two poster sessions that will be held during the conference in order to allow all attendees, especially students and junior investigators to present data and participate in discussions. Additional speakers will be chosen from the abstract submissions, and all participants will be encouraged to submit particularly novel late-breaking developments for brief oral presentation in the form of "hot topics". These hot topics sessions will be targeted specifically to accommodate junior scientists. In the past this conference has promoted interactions and scientific discussions among basic and clinical investigators from academia and industry. The limited attendance, state of the art scientific sessions, "hot topics" additions, and novel poster presentations combine to provide an essential forum that will further scientific advances in a field that is largely underserved by other conferences and national venues.